Palais Bulle (Espace Cardin), Théoule-sur-Mer, 1988-1992

Projet réalisé

Nestled in the heights above Théoule-sur-mer, in l’Esquillon, the Espace Cardin stands out as the crowning achievement of Antti Lovag’s “habitalogical” research. This “Bubble Palace” was initially planned for Pierre Bernard, who died in 1991. Though unfinished, it was bought by the famous couturier in 1992 and completed in 1993. The dwelling is an arrangement of spherical pods creating a curved space designed to enable several aspects of home life to coexist: a dining room, whose shell opens in the middle onto the terrace, with a mezzanine in the shape of a hammock with its own staircase for access. One can easily move about unhindered from one space to the next with just a few steps raising the floor level between them, located directly underneath the intersection of their respective vaults. As one progresses through the house, view points are constantly changing, thanks to sky domes and picture windows. The sky domes are particularly efficient in fulfilling their function of ventilation in the upper areas of the lived in volume, but above all, they are, depending on their various inclines, a source of light for the house.